Womandrobe

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IMG_4192 Some of you may have already read about Style Salvage Steve's love affair with the matching his n' her wardrobes that were delighted to find when we arrived at the Aan de Keizer Bed & Breakfast in Antwerp.  So much so that we couldn't wait to unpack our stuff into the wardrobes even though we were only going to be there for two days.  Literally could not have been more giddy over a physical empty wardrobe.  This 1920s-30s mahogony affair had each compartment labelled with its specific purpose – Millinery, Underwear, Lingerie, Hose, Blouses etc.  I did start to daydream about a larger version of this compartimised wardrobe for my own clothes and winced at my makeshift Ikea industrial shelving at home housing all my bunched up stuff.

Womandrobe

IMG_4304 As I started putting my limited luggage into the different compartments though I realised it was a little like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.  Where it said 'Hose' I put leggings.  I couldn't quite work out the difference between 'Lingerie' and 'Underwear'.  I presume there were more layers to shed underneath flapper dresses back in the day.  In place of 'Handkerchiefs' I shoved my Simple face wipes in there.  Oh and alas, 'Millinery' couldn't be filled at all lest I put my Bernhard Willhelm visor sunglasses.  Such compartments would be more relevant if I had ALL my clothes to fill it up.  If I were to have an entirely personalised version of The Valet Company wardrobe, I'm thinking I would have to replace the ivorine labels such as 'Hose', 'Handkerchiefs' and 'Underwear' with, "Cages", "Leggings", "Harnesses/braces'…

Just need to enlarge the compartments enormously as well.

Womandrobe2

35 comments

  1. Myself is stuck in a halls, my wardrobe is of a very limited size, can´t wait til I´m moving out and actually will be able to see all my clothes instead of having them under me bed. Oh! And how fantastic wouldn´t it be to put the garments in a style salvage Steve´s love affair.

  2. this is such a cute idea! i dont have a wardrobe, so these kind of organisational compartments are my dream. *sigh*

  4. Would love to have this wardrobe too! Although like mine, it’d start off all organised & neat, and then get overcrowded & messy, with things not in its proper space…

  7. Haha love how you managed to pretty much fill up the wardrobe even though you were travelling! I imagine if you had such a wardrobe at home it would take up a whole room or so!

  8. We have these, inherited from my grandparents, acquired in the 30s/40s. I love them, but yes the compartments are very small.
    I still rue the day I saw a similar one going for ¬£20 in a junk shop and didn’t snap it up..

  9. they don’t make things like this anymore, do they? i have a lovely gryson travel wallet that i love precisely because it has little embossed labels for ‘passport’, ‘ticket’, ‘coins’ etc around each compartment. old school attention to detail 🙂

  12. Wow, it is super super cool! I wonder what sort of closet I’ll have when I’m your age.

  13. I saw one of these at an antique mall and just about died. The accessories people used to wear! & having a label that just says ‘fur’ is beyond indulgent.

  15. I love your orange jacket front & center. This is such an imaginative use for an otherwise every day type of furniture. I love the way your mind works. xo

  18. A system like this appeals to my “everything in its place” instincts … but like you, I’d have a tough time filling some of those slots. Just don’t have a lot of Handkerchiefs and Millinery on hand! A custom job is clearly the solution.

  24. This wardrobe is too perfect for my cleaning OCD! I imagine the difference between underwear and lingerie is lace vs cotton. But maybe that’s old fashioned.

  25. I am so gutted that this wardrobe is the same size as my apartment lol. If I had large closet (or wardrobe) my life would be so much better!

  30. I have a wardrobe just like that which I bought from a antique shop in Camden. My wardrobe has separate drawers for plain shirts, fancy shirts and dress shirts which my clothes can’t really do justice!

  33. In place of ‘Handkerchiefs’ I shoved my Simple face wipes in there. Oh and alas, ‘Millinery’ couldn’t be filled at all lest I put my Bernhard Willhelm visor sunglasses. Such compartments would be more relevant if I had ALL my clothes to fill it up. If I were to have an entirely personalised version of The Valet Company wardrobe, I’m thinking I would have to replace the ivorine labels such as ‘Hose’, ‘Handkerchiefs’ and ‘Underwear’ with, “Cages”, “Leggings”, “Harnesses/braces’…

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